Put Down that Phone and Start Your Morning Right!

Technology is part of all of our lives. We wake up and scroll on our phone, get ready with the TV on, drive to work or daily tasks, work on our computers all day, watch TV when we get home, go to bed, and repeat. It’s virtually impossible to escape technology in this day and age, but that doesn’t mean it’s not harming our day as much as it’s helping. When you wake up, most likely you’re scrolling on emails or social media, but this can harm you and disrupt your brain waves. Read more to find out why you should wait to pick up that phone in the morning!

Don’t Look at Your Phone

The #1 tip that I can offer for a wonderful morning and a productive rest of your day is to get out of your bed and wait to look at your phone. This is one of the hardest tasks because most people (including me) want to wake up and scroll on their phones. I still struggle completing this task every morning, but I can feel the benefits throughout the rest of my day when I do. 

Your brain is really impressionable, especially in the morning, because your brain waves are transferring over from deep sleep into your regular awake and alert state. When you wake up, your brain transitions from delta waves (deep sleep stage) into theta waves (daydreamy stage), and moves into alpha waves, which is when you’re awake and relaxed, but not processing much information. The beta state is the last stage your brain moves into and it’s when you’re fully awake and alert. When you grab your phone first thing in the morning, your brain is forced from delta waves to the beta stage. Your body is forced to skip over theta and alpha waves, which are important stages that allow you to subconsciously visualize what you want and throughout the day you’re able to consciously perform actions towards that behavior or goal. 

Picking up your phone first thing in the morning primes your brain for distraction for the rest of the day. It also can trigger your stress response if the first thing you see is negative news or emails piled up that you have to respond to. This can create underlying stress for the rest of the day because your body was thrown into a stressful situation upon waking up. 

If you struggle with feelings of stress and anxiety throughout your day, then it could be related to looking at your phone right as you wake up. The good news is that this is an easy fix if you hold yourself accountable! I’m going to list off some plans that you can use to stay off your phone and start off your morning on a positive note.

Put it in Airplane Mode

It’s extremely common for people to use their phone as an alarm in the morning, so it’s quite hard to not scroll on a few things when you pick it up. I use my phone for an alarm and when I pick it up, it’s tempting to answer people or check social media. The best tip that I can give is to put it on airplane mode. When your phone is in airplane mode, it doesn’t receive any notifications and you can’t send any notifications. It’s an easy way to allow yourself to turn off your alarm, but not be tempted by all the notifications on the screen. If you choose to look at what people sent you or to send something yourself, you have to make the conscious decision to click off of airplane mode to do so. This might inhibit you from clicking off of airplane mode so fast, and enjoying an hour of your morning away from the screen.

Use An Alarm Clock

Most people use their phone as an alarm in the morning, but if it’s too tempting to scroll right as you wake up, then purchase an alarm clock! There are tons of alarm clocks out there that can fit whatever needs you have. You can charge your phone in a completely different room at night and wake up without the worry of grabbing it right away. With this option, you also have the added benefit of not staring at your phone too late at night, which can inhibit sleep due to the blue light from your phone.

Plan Something In the Morning

A huge part of why we scroll in the morning is because we want to wake up and feel connected to what we missed while sleeping. We get FOMO (fear of missing out) easily, but I have a secret – all of the stuff on your phone will be waiting for you whether you look at it right in the morning, or look at it an hour after waking up. Don’t be afraid that you’re missing something because it can wait for you to live your real life first before you hop on your social media life!

If you want to stay off your phone in the morning, but it’s too difficult, then plan something for your morning. Take some time the night before to plan out something you can do that doesn’t require your phone. You can make an iced coffee or matcha, read a book, or take a walk. There are countless activities that you can do in the morning that don’t require you to reach for your phone. Take advantage of your day by starting it right, and you might notice a difference in your energy, creativity, and emotions!